Coron Escapade - Part 2

If you missed part 1, click here.

Day 2 - Majika Resort

Despite the absence of air-conditioning, we had a restful evening. The sound of nature lulled us to sleep and woke us up early in the morning. I woke up with menstrual cramps. It was bad. Crap! Not today!

Breakfast was served at 7am. Again, nothing spectacular. Fried rice, daing, omelette and longganisa. Not the best I've tasted, but not bad either. The coffee was good though. It was strong and flavorful even without adding sugar. I added milk, they didn't have non-dairy creamer.

At 8:30am, we were ready for the Coron Island Tour. Our itinerary - Twin Lagoon, lunch at Banol Beach, Cayangan Lake, CYC Beach. We packed our gear and set off for our adventure. We shared the boat with the Villafuertes and Miss Carina, a school principal who was traveling alone, Orange, a girl traveling with her friend Jun, whom we later found out was a priest. Another boat was occupied by a family of seven.

Coron Island was a good 45 minutes away by boat. Before long, our boat was sailing between rock formations. Then we entered a cove which turned out to be the first of the twin lagoons. The water was smooth as silk and very clear. Ariel and I were the first to dive into the water with our life vest and snorkeling gear on. The water was cool and very deep. Schools of fish swam around us.

The lagoons are separated by a rock wall. During low tide, one can swim through an opening under the rock. During high tide, you will have to climb over the rock to get to the other lagoon. Fortunately, it was low tide that morning and we easily swam through the opening into the other lagoon.

On the other side, the water was cooler and less salty as it is mixed with fresh water. We saw fewer fishes but some swimmers said there were jellyfishes near the rock walls. We didn't dare find out for ourselves. After a while, Ariel and I swam back to our boat, took off our life vests and swam around the first lagoon. We just enjoyed the cool water and the beautiful surroundings.

Then it was off to Banol Beach for lunch. The rock formations in the area were awesome.

The beach has powdery white sand and the water crystal clear. However, it was too hot for us to enjoy the water at this time so we decided to just have our lunch first. We had the entire beach to ourselves.

Lunch consisted of rice, grilled fish, chicken adobo and steamed crabs. The food was pretty good but I was a bit disappointed with the crabs. They weren't fat! While they tasted good, I expected better quality considering that we were in Palawan.

After lunch, we couldn't resist the call of the ocean. At first it was just Ariel and I who braved the noontime heat to take a swim. Soon after, the rest of the guests in our boat followed suit.

Then we were off to Cayangan Lake, just a few minutes from Banol Beach. Our boat docked in a cove and we soon realized that we have to climb up a hill and then go down again into the lake.

It was exhausting! But the view from the top was really worth the effort.

As we descend into the lake, we were again rewarded with a breathtaking view. No wonder this tops the list of Coron's must sees.

Anyway, the lake was deep and the water cool and soothing. Ariel and I got into the water and explored the lake. There was a small cave a few meters across the dock. I was scared to go in but our guide reassured us that it's safe so we went in. The rocks around the cave were a bit sharp so we had to avoid touching them.

After a few quick poses for the camera, we got out and just relaxed in the cool waters of Cayangan Lake.

Finally, it was time to go. Our last stop for the day was CYC Beach. It was another white sand beach but instead of docking on the shore, our boat set anchor a few meters away, where fishes and corals abound. There were lots of sea urchins!

I was terrified of them. Aside from the spines, they have these "eyes" that seem to watch us as we swam by. We spent just a few minutes here before heading back to the resort.

After a quick shower, Ariel and I walked by the beach to take some photos before dinner.

 

As with the previous night, we retired early. I was already very anxious. My period came and I was dreading the following day. Based on today's cramps, I could feel it will be worse the next day. :(

Day 3 - Majika Resort

When I woke up at 5am, I knew I won't be going anywhere today. My dysmenorrhea was really bad, my flow very heavy. I need to be within a few steps of a working toilet all the time. Sadly, we had to skip today's tour. I told Ariel he can join the tour while I stay in the cottage. He chose to stay with me - as expected. For better or worse.

Fortunately, today's tour covers nearby sights. So lunch for the group was served at the resort and we got to enjoy the company of the Villafuerte's and Miss Carissa over lunch. Then they were off to another adventure while we watched Season 1 episodes of Criminal Minds.

By dinnertime, I was already feeling much better. I felt good enough for a game of pingpong. Time seemed to slow down in this island and to keep ourselves occupied in the past three days, we played billiards and pingpong. So anyway, it was our last dinner at Majika. Ms. Carina seized the microphone and started belting out songs at the bar. The kids were playing. Ariel and I hung out for a bit before we went back to our cottage to pack and prepare for our transfer the next day. :(

Here are some of Ariel's shots today:

See the complete set of photos here.

To see Part 3, click here.